Sri Krishna Kathamrita Tav k QaaMa*Ta& TaáJaqvNaMa( tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanam Bindu Fortnightly email mini-magazine from Gopal Jiu Publications Issue No. 335 Śrī Pāśāṅkuśā Ekādaśī 5 October 2014 Circulation 7,360 • BOOKS FOR CHILDREN His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada • DRAUPADI’S CHASTITY Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja Highlights • THE FIRST ATTRACTION — PART 1 From Srila Jiva Goswami’s Gopāla-pūrva-campūḥ, pūraṇa 15 BOOKS FOR CHILDREN His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Yes, to make a Krishna conscious coloring book for children is a very good idea for serving and for spreading Krishna consciousness to the young children. Please do it. I will give you hints how to do it; just let me know when you are ready to begin. It will be a great service. (Letter to Malati Dasi, 28 May 1968.) If you want to write books for children, story books about Krishna’s pastimes, I shall give you nice hints and Hamsaduta and Himavati can help you with nice pictures. I shall give you some facts about Lord Jagannath also. I am very glad to learn the practical result of deity worship in your behavior. I am so glad to learn that you are developing a bit of affection for Jagannath by personally taking care of him. That is the way of increasing our love of Godhead. Deity worship is the practical demonstration, and hearing from the spiritual master is the nourishment of the idea. Krishna consciousness is so nice that anyone His Divine Grace who has a little taste of it must feel a distinction between A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada his past and present life. It is not only the case with you and devotional practice, your pictures will become all but it is the case for everyone who has the fortunate attractive because of the bona fide transcendental subject opportunity for coming into contact with Krishna. (Letter matter. (Letter to Ekayani Dasi, 15 March 1970.) to Satyabhama Dasi. 27 December 1968.) DRAUPADI’S CHASTITY Yes, you can make nice children’s books, and in this connection you may correspond with Satyabhama who is Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja already working on a condensed version of Krishna book. There is a story in the Mahābhārata — there were five You should continue your painting, and then, with love brothers, Yudhisthir, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul, and Sahadev. next column Issue Three Hundred Thirty Five, Page — 2 é[q k* Z<ak QaaMa*Ta ibNdu top left 2 Top right 2 They were known as the Pandavas and they had a wife the forest. That condition was there and it was strictly named Draupadi. These five brothers had one wife. observed. After the expiry of one month, Draupadi In the scriptures, Draupadi is known as a most chaste was entering into the fire. Remember that Draupadi lady. The question arises as to how can a lady who has was born out of the fire of a sacrifice. She is not an five husbands be considered chaste? “Chaste lady” ordinary lady. She is known as yājñasenī. Her body had means that she should have only one husband and she been enjoyed by Yudhisthir. And afterwards she put should be devoted to that husband like goddess Sita. Sita it in the fire and got a new body. Then she went to Devi is the ideal lady and wife. Sita Devi had only one Bhima’s apartment with a new body. In this way she husband, Lord Rama. She had developed one-pointed was keeping up her chastity. Can any ordinary woman devotion towards Lord Rama. That is a chaste lady. How do it? No! Therefore Draupadi was a chaste lady. is it that Draupadi, with five husbands, is a chaste lady? — From a lecture on Bhagavad-gītā 9.24. New Vrindavan. 30 There are these two considerations, tattva-vicāra October 1990. and apara-vicāra, the absolute consideration and the THE FIRST ATTRACTION – PART 1 apparent consideration. All our discussions should be based on tattva-vicāra, the absolute consideration, and From Srila Jiva Goswami’s Gopāla-pūrva-campu, pūraṇa 15 not on the apparent consideration. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.24), na tu mām abhijānanti tattvenātaś The Gopāla-campūḥ describes events that took place in cyavanti te — “Those who do not understand the the eternal Goloka Vrindavan immediately after Lord Krishna left this planet and went back there. The book describes all tattva-vicāra fall down.” This is a question of tattva. the pastimes that took place on earth in the form of a re- You may say, “No, Draupadi is not at all a chaste narration from the perspective of two celestial singers in lady. She is an unchaste lady.” This is an apparent Goloka, Madhukantha and Snigdhakantha, who sing these consideration. How can a lady having five husbands be pastimes for the pleasure of Nanda Maharaja, Krishna, and chaste? However, Draupadi is not at all unchaste. No. other associates in Goloka. In the daytime they describe these Draupadi is a chaste lady, sati. How is it? How could she pastimes in the general assembly of Nanda Maharaja, and keep up her chastity being the wife of five husbands? at night they describe them in a private and secret assembly Draupadi had that potency. There was a condition consisting of the gopīs along with Krishna and a few selected at Draupadi’s svayaṁvara, ceremony for selection of associates. The descriptions given in front of Nanda Maharaja her groom. Arjun shot an arrow that hit the eye of a and the other gopas in the day are of a more general nature, fish revolving at the end of a pillar by only seeing the whereas the descriptions in the night time assembly are of a more intimate nature. Each chapter in this composition is reflection of the fish in a water pot below. Nobody else called a pūraṇa (not purāṇa). pūrayati iti pūraṇa — That could do it, so Arjuna won Draupadi. Neither Yudhisthir, which completes is known as pūraṇa. Thus, each pūraṇa Bhima, Nakula nor Sahadev got her. Arjuna did. So makes the devotee’s realizations more complete. according to the law, Draupadi should be the wife of In pūraṇa 15, Srila Jiva Goswami describes the events that Arjuna. But when they came to mother Kunti, they took place on earth after the killing of Dhenukasura. Srila said, “Mother Kunti, we have got a very nice gift today.” Jiva Goswami has named this chapter, “Pūrvānurāgaḥ”. The mother said, “All right, whatever you have got, This technical term as it relates to divine love is defined in you share it equally among all five brothers.” the Rasārṇava-sudhākara: They got Draupadi, so carrying out the order of their yat prema saṅgamāt pūrvaṁ darśana- mother, they should equally share. Thus Draupadi śravaṇādibhiḥ pūrvānurāgaḥ sa jñeyaḥ — “The became the wife of five husbands, but since she had feelings of love experienced before the first meeting are known as pūrvānurāga. These feelings are experienced extraordinary potency she did not become unchaste. by seeing the beloved from a distance, hearing about him They had a condition that Draupadi should spend or her, etc.” (Rasārṇava-sudhākara 2.174 – 175) one month with one husband. The first month she Pūrvānurāga is a stage where the lover and the beloved , would spend with Yudhisthir the next month with have not met, yet they secretly develop a liking for each other. Bhima, then Arjuna, then Nakula, and then Sahadev. Since the lover and the beloved are separated from each In this way she divided her time. During that period other at this stage, it is technically a stage of vipralambha no other brother will enter into that apartment. (separation). There are many varieties of pūrvānurāga and If someone breaks the condition he will be banished to various transitory emotions that accompany it. Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu Issue Three Hundred Thirty Five, Page — 3 Top left 3 top right 3 external circumstances), vismaya (amazement), garva (pride), lajjā (bashfulness), apatrapā (boldness devoid of shame), bhaya (fear), ādara (respect), harṣa (great joy), and icchā (desire to meet), and the deluge of all these simultaneous emotions caused them to become stabdha (motionless) and amazed, as if they were some sort of colorful paintings. [Translator’s Note: The motionlessness was caused by the simultaneous manifestation of all various types of opposing emotions. Now Srila Jiva Goswami singles out a special one among the gopīs and describes her feelings.] akasmād āyāntaṁ harim anubhavantī kila hriyā daśām akṣṇor nānā-drutam apidadhe sā nata-mukhī mudā smerā bhugnā vikasitavatī kuñcitavatī sa-bāṣpā stabdhābhābhavad iti samaṁ yā na ghaṭate Hearing of the unexpected arrival of Hari, her face was turned down in a bashful mood. She quickly tried to hide all the various restless movements of her eyes. Sometimes she would smile out of joy and sometimes her face would have a furrowed look. Sometimes she would swell with happiness and sometimes she Unknown artist Srila Jiva Goswami’s narration now begins: would shrink out of bashfulness. Sometimes she would On another evening, the prince of Goloka, Krishna, experience an overflow of tears and sometimes she would simply remain motionless. Indeed, no one could had his evening meal in the association of his friends. match her in terms of the flow of emotions. Taking permission from mother Yashoda, he then went to the splendid assembly of Nanda Maharaja, [Translator’s Note: It is thus indirectly suggested just as he would do each night. There he spent almost that this gopī is Srimati Radharani, for only she can be three hours, and then he took permission from the the one whom no one else can match.